Christians in Cinema

The long-awaited fifth installment of the Love Comes Softly series releases on DVD this coming Tuesday (12/4). Love’s Unending Legacy picks up the story of Missie LaHaye, who returns home to her parents after the murder of her husband. With her young son at her side, she soon takes up the cause of an orphaned teenager and her brother. Of course, there are potential love interests in the local pastor and sheriff, and we get to see more of her beloved parents Marty and Clark Davis.

In an exclusive interview with Janette Oke, she talks about the inspiration for her stories and characters. She believes her stories are well-loved because, no matter the time period, everyone can relate to tragedy, love and hope.

This is the first film in the series to be directed by someone other than Michael Landon, Jr., so it will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable difference. [If you haven’t seen the other films in the series, they are available right now.]

Though the stories originated with Mrs. Oke, when a director takes on a film project, it becomes his story to interpret. You might say the movie is shaped by the vision of the director. So a good exercise in movie-making would be to watch all 5 films and try to identify what separates Michael Landon’s style from Mark Griffiths’.